Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving additional information in a broadcast communication system

ABSTRACT

A method for receiving additional information from a device in a broadcast communication system is provided. The method includes receiving broadcast information provided from a broadcast service provider over a broadcast channel, extracting application information from the broadcast information, acquiring location information for the additional information associated with a broadcast content from the application information, and transmitting the location information for the additional information to a peer device for displaying the additional information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed on Apr. 19, 2013 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office and assigned Serial number 10-2013-0043835, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus fortransmitting and receiving additional information in a broadcastcommunication system. More particularly, the present disclosure relatesto a method for transmitting and receiving a multimedia service to auser by using a portable device in a broadcast communication system.

BACKGROUND

Recently, a broadcast communication system has evolved to provide aHybrid Broadcast Broadband TeleVision (HBBTV) service that allows aTeleVision (TV) to support both a broadcast channel and an InternetProtocol (IP)-based broadband channel. The HBBTV service is one ofdigital broadcast system standards proposed in Europe.

In a broadcast communication system that provides the HBBTV service, asmart TV, and the like capable of providing various multimedia servicesmay be used. In the smart TV, and the like, various applications may beused to provide multimedia-based broadcast services.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the related art.

Referring to FIG. 1, the broadcast communication system will be assumedas a system that provides the HBBTV service by way of example.

The broadcast communication system includes a broadcast service provider110, a user device 104, and the Internet 11. As an example, thebroadcast service provider 110 may be a broadcasting station, and thelike, and the user device 104 may be a smart TV, and the like. Thebroadcast service provider 110 provides a broadcast service to the userdevice 104 over a cable broadcast channel or a wireless broadcastchannel. Although not illustrated in the drawing, the broadcast serviceprovider 110 may include a broadcast server, and the like, and thebroadcast server may provide additional information associated with thebroadcast service to the user device 104 over the Internet 11 to whichthe broadcast server is connected via a broadband channel.

In a wireless communication system, a mobile terminal has evolved into asmart phone to which a high speed packet data service is provided over abroadband channel, and thus users can be provided with useful functionsthrough applications installed in a smart phone. Since users may usevarious types of portable devices, such as a tablet, a laptop computer,a notebook computer, a smart phone, and the like, to be provided with amultimedia service, the multimedia services provided in the portabledevices are also proposed in various manners.

In the broadcast communication system of FIG. 1, if a user uses the userdevice 104 and a portable device together, the user may be provided withmore various types of broadcast services, and the user's convenience mayalso be enhanced. Therefore, there is a need for a way to provide amultimedia service to a user by using a portable device in a broadcastcommunication system as in FIG. 1.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a method and an apparatus for transmitting andreceiving additional information in a broadcast communication system.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and anapparatus for transmitting and receiving additional information to aportable device of a user in a broadcast communication system.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a method forreceiving additional information from a device in a broadcastcommunication system is provided. The method includes receivingbroadcast information provided from a broadcast service provider over abroadcast channel, extracting application information from the broadcastinformation, acquiring location information for the additionalinformation associated with a broadcast content from the applicationinformation, and transmitting the location information for theadditional information to a peer device for displaying the additionalinformation.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodfor receiving additional information from a device in a broadcastcommunication system is provided. The method includes receiving locationinformation for the additional information associated with a broadcastcontent from a peer device, requesting a server for the additionalinformation over a broadband channel, based on the location information,and receiving the additional information from the server.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodfor receiving additional information from a device in a broadcastcommunication system is provided. The method includes receivingtemporary location information for the additional information associatedwith a broadcast content from a peer device, requesting the peer devicefor the additional information, based on the temporary locationinformation, and receiving the additional information from the peerdevice.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a devicefor receiving additional information in a broadcast communication systemis provided. The device includes an interface configured to receivebroadcast information provided from a broadcast service provider over abroadcast channel, and a manager configured to extract applicationinformation from the broadcast information, to acquire locationinformation for the additional information associated with a broadcastcontent from the application information, and to transmit the locationinformation for the additional information to a peer device fordisplaying the additional information.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a devicefor additional information in a broadcast communication system isprovided. The device includes a receiver configured to receive locationinformation for the additional information associated with a broadcastcontent from a peer device, and to receive the additional informationfrom a server and a transmitter configured to request the server for theadditional information over a broadband channel, based on the locationinformation.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a devicefor receiving additional information in a broadcast communication systemis provided. The device includes a receiver configured to receivetemporary location information for the additional information associatedwith a broadcast content from a peer device, and to receive theadditional information from the peer device and a transmitter configuredto request the peer device for the additional information, based on thetemporary location information.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the related art;

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of a devicein a broadcast communication system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation of providingadditional information to a device in a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation of providingadditional information to a device in a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of providing additionalinformation to a second device by a first device in a broadcastcommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of providing additionalinformation to a second device by a first device in a broadcastcommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an operation of providing additional information todevices by a broadcast service provider in a broadcast communicationsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic,parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations orvariations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error,measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to skill in theart, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect thecharacteristic was intended to provide.

In the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a detailed description of known functions or configurationsincorporated herein will be omitted when it is determined that thedetailed description thereof may unnecessarily obscure the subjectmatter of the present disclosure.

The following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure will be directed to a Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TeleVision(HBBTV) system. However, it should be noted that the present disclosuremay also be applied to various digital broadcast communication systemscapable of using both a cable or a wireless broadcast channel and abroadband channel, as well as the HBBTV system.

In the HBBTV system, a multimedia service may be considered, whichallows at least two electronic devices, such as a smart TV and aportable device to share contents with each other or to use contents bybeing linked with each other.

Further, the HBBTV standard defines a communication environment wherebroadcast information is received over a broadcast channel in abroadcast network, and a data signal is received over a broadbandchannel in an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

In a broadcast communication system, a user device, for example, a smartTV, receives a broadcast content from a broadcast service provider overa broadcast channel, and consumes the received broadcast content. Inthis scenario, the broadcast service provider transmits a data signalincluding additional information and the like associated with thebroadcast content over a broadband channel. Further, broadcastinformation provided over the broadcast channel includes an ApplicationInformation Table (AIT), and the AIT includes metadata by which anapplication associated with the broadcast content can be executed in theuser device.

As an example, the user device receives a broadcast content from thebroadcast service provider over the broadcast channel, and along withthe broadcast content, also receives a network address for receivingadditional information associated with the broadcast content. Thenetwork address may be, for example, Internet connection information,such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Thereafter, the user devicerequests the broadcast service provider for the additional informationassociated with the broadcast content over a broadband channel by usingthe URL. Subsequently, the user device receives the additionalinformation associated with the broadcast content from the broadcastservice provider.

As another embodiment of the present disclosure, if there are at leasttwo user devices, for example, if a smart TV and a user's portabledevice, such as a smart phone are used together, the user may receive abroadcast content through the smart TV and receive additionalinformation associated with the broadcast content through the user'sportable device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the broadcast communication system will be assumedas a system that provides the HBBTV service by way of example.

The broadcast communication system includes a broadcast service provider210, a first device 230, a second device 250, and the Internet 11. Inthe HBBTV communication environment where the first device 230, forexample, a smart TV, is simultaneously connected to a broadcast channeland a broadband channel (e.g., an IP channel), the second device 250equipped with a means for displaying additional information of abroadcast content may be linked with the first device 230 to receive anddisplay the additional information.

For example, the first device 230 receives broadcast information and abroadcast content provided from the broadcast service provider 210 overa broadcast channel, and extracts an AIT from the broadcast information.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AIT includes a networkaddress where additional information associated with the broadcastcontent can be received, that is, a URL for additional information. Inaddition, the first device 230 extracts the URL for additionalinformation from the AIT, and conveys the extracted URL to the seconddevice 250.

Thereafter, the first device 230 may display the received broadcastcontent as a main broadcast, and the second device 250 may receive theadditional information associated with the broadcast content from thebroadcast service provider 210 or an external server by using the URLfor additional information and display the received additionalinformation.

As another embodiment of the present disclosure, if the broadcastinformation provided from the broadcast service provider 210 over thebroadcast channel includes the additional information, the first device230 extracts the additional information, and conveys the extractedadditional information to the second device 250. Thereafter, the seconddevice 250 may display the additional information received from thefirst device 230.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of a devicein a broadcast communication system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

In the following description, the device will be assumed as the firstdevice 230 of FIG. 2, and the first device 230 may be provided in adigital TV, such as a smart TV, to provide additional information.Further, the first device 230 may be provided in various types ofdigital devices capable of receiving a broadcast service, as well as thedigital TV.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first device 230 includes an AIT manager 310, aruntime environment processor 330, and a broadcast and broadbandprocessor 350. In addition, the runtime environment processor 330includes an application manager 331 and a browser 333, and the broadcastand broadband processor 350 includes an AIT filter 353, a DigitalStorage Media Command and Control (DSM-CC) client 354, a media player358, a demultiplexer 352, a broadcast processor 357, an Internetprotocol processor 356, a broadcast interface 351, and a broadbandinterface 355.

The first device 230 receives an AIT, a linear Audio/Video (A/V)content, an application, and stream event through the broadcastinterface 351 for receiving a broadcast channel signal. The informationreceived through the broadcast interface 351 is transferred to the AITfilter 353, the DSM-CC client 354, and the broadcast processor 357through the demultiplexer 352. The DSM-CC client 354 recovers datastreams conveyed through a DSM-CC object carousel, and provides therecovered data streams to the runtime environment processor 330.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, broadcastinformation received over a broadcast channel includes an AIT, and theAIT includes additional information associated with a broadcast contentor a URL for additional information. The broadcast information isconveyed to the AIT filter 353 via the broadcast interface 351 and thedemultiplexer 352. The AIT filter 353 extracts the AIT from the conveyedbroadcast information, and conveys the extracted AIT to the applicationmanager 331. The application manager 331 evaluates the extracted AIT andconveys the evaluated AIT to the AIT manager 310, and the AIT manager310 extracts the additional information or the URL for additionalinformation from the AIT and conveys the extracted additionalinformation or URL to the second device 250.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AIT manager 310 receivesa request for additional information from the second device 250, andprocesses a response to the request. If the broadcast informationincludes the URL for additional information, the AIT manager 310 conveysthe URL for additional information, included in the AIT, to the seconddevice 250 in response to the request from the second device 250.However, if the broadcast information includes the actual data of theadditional information, the AIT manager 310 stores the additionalinformation in a temporary space on a memory (not shown) of the firstdevice 230, generates a temporary URL for additional information, andconveys the generated temporary URL to the second device 250. In thisscenario, the temporary URL for additional information means a networkaddress indicating the location where the additional information isstored in the first device 230. If the second device 250 receives thetemporary URL for additional information, it requests the first device230 for the delivery of the additional information, and receives theadditional information in response to the request.

Referring to FIG. 3, the runtime environment processor 330 refers to anabstract component that executes interactive applications. Theapplication manager 331 evaluates AIT data provided through the AITfilter 353, and controls the life cycle of a corresponding interactiveapplication. The browser 333 is responsible for executing an interactiveapplication and responding to an operation of an application.

The broadcast processor 357 may process a broadcast content, forexample, a linear AN content, in a similar manner to that in a standardDigital Video Broadcasting (DVB) device. In addition, the broadcastprocessor 357 may include all DVB functions provided in the standard DVBdevice. However, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, thebroadcast content is not limited to the DVB type, and may cover allbroadcast contents of various types of broadcast systems that areprovided along with additional information.

The broadcast processor 357 may provide additional information andfunctions, such as channel list, an Event Information Present/Following(EIT p/f) table, a tuning function, and the like, to the runtimeenvironment processor 330. If a specific application modifies (scalesand embeds) a linear A/V content through a user interface, the mediaplayer 358 is operated. The media player 358 includes functions toprocess an A/V content.

Referring to FIG. 3, the broadband processor 355 provides Internetconnectivity to the first device 230. The first device 230 may requestan application provider's server (not shown) for application datathrough the broadband processor 355, and may receive a non-linear A/Vcontent, such as a Content on Demand (CoD). The Internet protocolprocessor 356 provides functions required for the first device 230 toprocess data received from the Internet. More specially, the Internetprotocol processor 356 conveys application data to the runtimeenvironment processor 330, and conveys non-linear A/V data to the mediaplayer 358.

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation of providingadditional information to a device in a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 shows an example in which a URL for additionalinformation is included in broadcast information transmitted over abroadcast channel and the actual additional information is transmittedover a broadband channel. Further, the embodiment of FIG. 4 shows anexample in which, for example, a Consumer Electronics Association(CEA)-2014-based Remote User Interface (RUI) technology is applied to abroadcast communication system of the present disclosure.

For the better understanding of the present disclosure, a briefdescription will now be given of the RUI technology. The RUI technologyrefers to a client-server architecture-based technology in which aRemote User Interface Client (RUIC) acquires a User Interface (UI) froma Remote User Interface Server (RUIS) so that a user may control theRUIS through the UI on the RUIC. The RUIS providing a UI for remotecontrol includes a web server, and the RUIS transmits a web pagerequired by the RUIC to the RUIC through the web server. Further, theRUIC may display the web page of a corresponding UI to the user through,for example, a Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) browser. Further, theRUIS provides information on the RUIS to a User Interface Control Point(UICP), and the UICP is responsible for a connection between the RUICand the RUIS. The UICP may be included in the RUIC or may separatelyexist.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the RUIC and the UICP may beimplemented as a first and/or second device, and the RUIS may beimplemented as a broadcast service provider or an external server of thebroadcast service provider. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, for theconvenience of description, the UICP is illustrated as a separate devicefrom the first and second devices, and the RUIS is illustrated as aseparate device from the broadcast service provider.

Referring to FIG. 4, in operation 401, a first device 420 receivesbroadcast information provided from a broadcast service provider 440over a broadcast channel, and extracts an AIT including a URL foradditional information from the broadcast information. In operation 403,at the request of a user through a second device 430, a UICP 410requests the first device 420 for a URL for additional information.Thereafter, in operation 405, an AIT manager (not shown) included in thefirst device 420 provides the URL for additional information, includedin the AIT, to the UICP 410 in response to the request in operation 403.In operation 407, the UICP 410 conveys the URL for additionalinformation to the second device 430 to request the second device 430for the loading of the corresponding additional information. Inoperation 409, the second device 430 request an RUIS 450 for thecorresponding additional information over a broadband channel by usingthe URL for additional information. Thereafter, in operation 411, theRUIS 450 transmits, for example, additional information composed of HTMLto the second device 430, and the second device 430 displays thereceived additional information to the user.

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation of providingadditional information to a device in a broadcast communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 shows an example in which the actual additionalinformation is included in broadcast information transmitted over abroadcast channel, and a first device stores the additional informationand then provides the additional information to a second device at therequest of the second device. Further, the embodiment of FIG. 5 shows anexample in which, for example, a CEA-2014-based RUI technology isapplied to a broadcast communication system of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 501, the first device 420 receivesbroadcast information provided from the broadcast service provider 440over a broadcast channel, and extracts an AIT including the actualadditional information from the broadcast information. In operation 503,at the request of a user through the second device 430, the UICP 410requests the first device 420 for a URL for additional information. Inoperation 505, an AIT manager (not shown) included in the first device420 checks the AIT. If the AIT includes data of additional information,the AIT manager extracts the corresponding additional information fromthe AIT, temporarily stores the extracted additional information, andgenerates a temporary URL for additional information that indicates thelocation where the additional information is temporarily stored.

Subsequently, in operation 507, the AIT manager included in the firstdevice 420 provides the temporary URL for additional information to theUICP 410 in response to the request in operation 503. In operation 509,the UICP 410 conveys the temporary URL for additional information to thesecond device 430 to request the second device 430 for the loading ofthe corresponding additional information. Thereafter, in operation 511,the second device 430 requests the first device 420 for the additionalinformation indicated by the temporary URL for additional information.In operation 513, the first device 420 transmits, for example,additional information composed of HTML to the second device 430, andthe second device 430 displays the received additional information tothe user.

According to the above various embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, the UICP410 requests the first device 420 for a URL for additional information.The operation of making a request for a URL may be supported byextending the schema that is applied to a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)device. An example of the UPnP device extension schema defined inCEA-2014 is presented below in Table 1. In Table 1, the solid-line blockrepresents the part required to make a request for a URL for additionalinformation. For example, the UICP 410 makes a request for a URL foradditional information through “retrieveCommandURL”, and the AIT managerserves to process this request.

TABLE 1 <xs:element name=“uiClientInfo”> <xs:complexType> <xs:sequence><xs:element name:“connectCommandURL” type=“xs:anyURI” minOccurs=“1”maxOccurs=“1 /> <xs:element name=“disconnectCommandURL” type=“xs:anyURI”minOccurs=“1” maxOccurs= “1 /> <xs:element name=“saveCommandURL”type=“xs:anyURI” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“1 /> <xs:elementname=“restoreCommandURL” type=“xs:anyURI” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“1 /><xs:element name=“retrieveCommandURL” type=“xs:anyURI” minOccurs=“0”maxOccurs=“1 /> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> </xs:element>

Hereinafter, a procedure in which the UICP makes a request for a URLaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

If additional information is provided over a broadband channel as in theembodiment of FIG. 4, the UICP 410 uses the UPnP device extension schemaof Table 1, and more particularly, requests the first device 420 for aURL for additional information by using the following GET command.

GET/RetrieveCommandURL HTTP/1.1

If the URL request from the UICP 410 succeeds, then the AIT managerincluded in the first device 420 conveys the URL for additionalinformation along with the following 510 code to the UICP 410. If theURL request from the UICP 410 fails, then the AIT manager included inthe first device 420 conveys the following 520 code to the UICP 410.

<If URL request succeeds> HTTP/1.1 510 Retrieve successful AIT_URL:http://additional_information_url <If URL request fails> HTTP/1.1 520Retrieve fail

If additional information is provided over a broadcast channel as in theembodiment of FIG. 5, the procedure in which the UICP 410 makes arequest for a URL for additional information is the same as in theembodiment of the FIG. 4. However, in this scenario, the URL foradditional information means a temporary URL temporarily generated inthe first device 420, rather than an external URL used in a broadbandchannel. The second device 430 requests the first device 420 for theadditional information by using the temporary URL, and the AIT managerincluded in the first device 420 processes the additional informationrequest.

A response to the additional information request using the temporary URLis the same as in the following typical HTTP processing method.

<If request succeeds> HTTP/1.1 200 OK Content-Type: text/plainContent-Length: xxx <HTML> <HEAD><TITLE> ... </TITLE> .... <If requestfails> 404 Not Found

As an example, response codes conveyed by the AIT manager included inthe first device 420 are presented below in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Case where corresponding response Response code Meaning code isused 200 OK This indicates that a request for Embodiment of FIG. 5additional information succeeds. This conveys an HTML content. 404 NotFound This indicates that a request for Embodiment of FIG. 5 additionalinformation fails. 510 Retrieve This indicates that a request for a URLEmbodiments of FIGS. 4 successful for additional information succeeds.and 5 This conveys a URL for additional information. 520 Retrieve failThis indicates that a request for a URL Embodiments of FIGS. 4 foradditional information fails. and 5

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of providing additionalinformation to a second device by a first device in a broadcastcommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, the first device receives abroadcast stream over a broadcast channel. The broadcast stream includesa broadcast content and broadcast information. The broadcast informationincludes an AIT, and the first device extracts the AIT from thebroadcast information in operation 603. In operation 605, the firstdevice determines if additional information is included in the extractedAIT. If, as a result of the determination in operation 605, additionalinformation is not included in the AIT, then the first device extracts aURL for additional information from the AIT in operation 607. Further,in operation 609, the first device transmits the extracted URL foradditional information to the second device.

On the other hand, if, as a result of the determination in operation605, additional information is included in the AIT, then the firstdevice proceeds to operation 611. In operation 611, the first deviceextracts additional information from the AIT, and temporarily stores theextracted additional information. In operation 613, the first devicegenerates a temporary URL for additional information that indicates thelocation where the additional information is temporarily stored. Inoperation 615, the first device transmits the generated temporary URLfor additional information to the second device. Thereafter, inoperation 617, the first device receives a request for additionalinformation, which is made using the temporary URL, from the seconddevice. In operation 619, the first device reads out the additionalinformation corresponding to the temporary URL, and conveys the readadditional information to the second device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of providing additionalinformation to a second device by a first device in a broadcastcommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, in operation 701, the first device receives abroadcast stream over a broadcast channel. The broadcast stream includesa broadcast content and broadcast information. The broadcast informationincludes an AIT, and the first device extracts the AIT from thebroadcast information in operation 703. In operation 705, the firstdevice determines an attribute “Screen type” in the extracted AIT, anddetermines a device in which to execute an application, that is, adevice where additional information will be displayed, based on theattribute “Screen type”.

As an example, the attribute “Screen type” may be set to one of values“Main”, “Sub_Alternative”, and “Sub”, and details of the respectivevalues of “Screen type” are presented below in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Main This indicates a broadcast service application that may beexecuted in a first device. Sub_Alternative This indicates a broadcastservice application that is executed in a second device, but may also beexecuted in the first device if there is no second device. Sub Thisindicates a broadcast service application that may be executed in asecond device.

If the attribute “Screen_type” has a value of “Main” corresponding tothe first type, additional information is displayed only in the firstdevice. Thereafter, the first device proceeds to operation 711, anddrives a browser capable of displaying additional information.Subsequently, in operation 713, the first device displays additionalinformation to a user.

If the attribute “Screen_type” has a value of “Sub_Alternative” or “Sub”corresponding to the second type, the first device proceeds to operation707, and determines if a second device is found. If, as a result of thedetermination in operation 707, a second device is not found, then thefirst device proceeds to operation 709, and determines if additionalinformation can be displayed in the first device. In the case of“Sub_Alternative”, since it is possible to display additionalinformation in the first device, the first device proceeds to operation711, and displays additional information to a user. On the other hand,in the case of “Sub”, since it is impossible to display additionalinformation in the first device, the first device proceeds to operation715, and does not display additional information.

If, as a result of the determination in operation 707, a second deviceis found, then the first device proceeds to operation 717, anddetermines if the AIT includes the actual additional information. If, asa result of the determination in operation 717, the AIT does not includeadditional information, then the first device proceeds to operation 719,and extracts a URL for additional information from the AIT. Thereafter,in operation 721, the first device transmits the extracted URL foradditional information to the second device. Thereafter, the seconddevice receives the URL for additional information, and drives a browserto display additional information, received over a broadband channel, toa user.

On the other hand, if, as a result of the determination in operation717, the AIT includes additional information, then the first deviceproceeds to operation 723, and temporarily stores, for example,additional information composed of HTML. Further, in operation 725, thefirst device generates a temporary URL for additional information, bywhich the stored additional information can be provided. Thereafter, inoperation 727, the first device transmits the generated temporary URLfor additional information to the second device. Subsequently, uponreceiving a request for additional information, which is made using thetemporary URL, from the second device in operation 729, the first devicetransmits the additional information indicated by the temporary URL tothe second device in operation 731. Thereafter, the second devicereceives the additional information indicated by the temporary URL fromthe first device, and drives a browser to display the receivedadditional information to a user.

In the above embodiment of the present disclosure, the second device isable to identify whether the URL for additional information, receivedfrom the first device, is a URL by which additional information can bereceived over a broadband channel or a temporary URL generated in thefirst device.

FIG. 8 illustrates an operation of providing additional information todevices by a broadcast service provider in a broadcast communicationsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, a broadcast service provider 810 provides broadcastinformation and a broadcast content, for example, in the form of astreaming service, to a first device 830 over a broadcast channel L1.Further, an external server of the broadcast service provider 810provides additional information to a second device 850 over a broadbandchannel L2.

Referring to FIG. 8, a situation is assumed in which a user watches asports broadcast by using the first device 830 to receive broadcastinformation over the broadcast channel L1, and more particularly, theuser is intended to be provided with additional information associatedwith the sport broadcast, for example, player information, game records,and the like, through the second device 850 while watching thecorresponding sports broadcast.

The first device 830 conveys a URL for additional information associatedwith the corresponding sports broadcast to the second device 850 over aseparate channel L3. Upon receiving the URL for additional information,the second device 850 receives additional information from the broadcastservice provider 810 over the broadband channel L2. Subsequently, thesecond device 850 displays the received additional information to theuser.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure as describedabove, a first device may provide a URL for additional information oradditional information itself, included in broadcast information, to asecond device. Accordingly, the first device may display a broadcastcontent to a user, and the second device may display additionalinformation associated with the broadcast content to the user.

Further, if broadcast information received over a broadcast channelincludes the actual additional information, the second device maydirectly receive the additional information through the first device anddisplay the received additional information to a user.

Further, if broadcast information received over a broadcast channelincludes a URL for providing additional information and the actualadditional information is provided over a broadband channel, the seconddevice may receive the URL for additional information and receiveadditional information over the broadband channel by using the receivedURL.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for transmitting additional informationby a first device in a broadcast communication system, the methodcomprising: receiving, by the first device, broadcast information on abroadcast channel; extracting, by the first device, an applicationinformation table (AIT) to acquire the additional information from thebroadcast information; identifying, by the first device, whether the AITincludes the additional information; acquiring, by the first device,location information for the additional information and screen typeinformation from the AIT, if the AIT does not include the additionalinformation; and transmitting, by the first device, the locationinformation for the additional information to a second device based onthe screen type information, wherein the additional information isrelated to content included in the broadcast information, and whereinthe screen type information indicates at least one of the first deviceand the second device that is allowed to display the additionalinformation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location informationfor the additional information comprises a uniform resource locator(URL) information that is used to receive the additional information ona broadband channel.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:acquiring the additional information from the AIT, if the AIT includesthe additional information; temporarily storing the additionalinformation in the first device, and generating temporary locationinformation indicating a location where the additional information istemporarily stored; and transmitting the generated temporary locationinformation to the second device.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying the additional information based on the screentype information.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first devicereceives the broadcast information from a broadcast service providerover the broadcast channel, and wherein the second device receives theadditional information from the broadcast service provider over abroadband channel.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first devicereceives the additional information on the broadband channel directlyfrom a server to display the additional information.
 7. A method forreceiving additional information by a second device in a broadcastcommunication system, the method comprising: receiving, by the seconddevice, location information for the additional information transmittedfrom a first device based on screen type information, the additionalinformation being related to content included in broadcast information;transmitting, by the second device, to a server a request for theadditional information, based on the location information; andreceiving, by the second device, the additional information from theserver, wherein the location information and the screen type informationare acquired from an application information table (AIT) included in thebroadcast information, and wherein the screen type information indicatesat least one of the first device and the second device that is allowedto display the additional information.
 8. A method for receivingadditional information by a second device in a broadcast communicationsystem, the method comprising: receiving, by the second device,temporary location information to acquire the additional informationtransmitted from a first device based on screen type information, theadditional information being related to content included in broadcastinformation; transmitting, by the second device, to the first device arequest for the additional information, based on the temporary locationinformation; and receiving, by the second device, the additionalinformation from the first device, wherein the temporary locationinformation indicates a location where the additional information istemporarily stored in the first device, wherein the additionalinformation is acquired from an application information table (AIT)included in the broadcast information, and wherein the screen typeinformation indicates at least one of the first device and the seconddevice that is allowed to display the additional information.
 9. A firstdevice in a broadcast communication system, the first device comprising:a transmitter; a receiver configured to receive broadcast information ona broadcast channel; and a processor configured to: extract anapplication information table (AIT) to acquire additional informationfrom the broadcast information, identify whether the AIT includes theadditional information, acquire location information for the additionalinformation and screen type information from the AIT, if the AIT doesnot include the additional information, and control the transmitter totransmit the location information for the additional information to asecond device based on the screen type information, wherein theadditional information is related to content included in the broadcastinformation, and wherein the screen type information indicates at leastone of the first device and the second device that is allowed to displaythe additional information.
 10. The first device of claim 9, wherein thelocation information for the additional information comprises a uniformresource locator (URL) information that is used to receive theadditional information on a broadband channel.
 11. The first device ofclaim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: acquire theadditional information from the AIT, if the AIT includes the additionalinformation, temporarily store the additional information in the firstdevice, generate temporary location information indicating a locationwhere the additional information is temporarily stored, and transmit thegenerated temporary location information to the second device.
 12. Thefirst device of claim 9, further comprising a display configured todisplay the additional information based on the screen type information.13. The first device of claim 9, wherein the first device receives thebroadcast information from a broadcast service provider over thebroadcast channel, and wherein the second device receives the additionalinformation from the broadcast service provider over a broadbandchannel.
 14. The first device of claim 9, wherein the receiver isfurther configured to receive the additional information on thebroadband channel directly from a server to display the additionalinformation.
 15. A second device in a broadcast communication system,the second device comprising: a receiver configured to: receive locationinformation for additional information transmitted from a first devicebased on screen type information, and receive the additional informationfrom a server, the additional information being related to contentincluded in broadcast information; and a transmitter configured totransmit to the server a request for the additional information, basedon the location information, wherein the location information and thescreen type information are acquired from an application informationtable (AIT) included in the broadcast information, and wherein thescreen type information indicates at least one of the first device andthe second device that is allowed to display the additional information.16. A second device in a broadcast communication system, the seconddevice comprising: a receiver configured to: receive temporary locationinformation for acquiring additional information transmitted from afirst device based on screen type information, the additionalinformation being related to content included in broadcast information,and receive the additional information from the first device; and atransmitter configured to transmit to the first device a request for theadditional information, based on the temporary location information,wherein the temporary location information indicates a location wherethe additional information is temporarily stored in the first device,wherein the additional information is acquired from an applicationinformation table (AIT) included in the broadcast information, andwherein the screen type information indicates at least one of the firstdevice and the second device that is allowed to display the additionalinformation.